My life just got that more busier….

A requirement to graduate from Georgetown University School of Medicine is to not only complete and pass all the required courses, successfully pass the national boards, meet the objectives to become a physician (clinical skills) but also to participate in research.

In addition to my classes and the 30 credit hours I will be taking next semester, the hrs I will spend in the hospital for a course called Ambulatory Care, the time I will be spending with my mentor in the operating room and the other requirements of a typical med student, I will be doing research at a clinic called the Spanish Catholic Center in NW DC.

I will be doing research on preventive health services and their implementation in the primary care setting. It primarily involves chart reviews and data entry, but I will also learn a great deal about evidence based preventive services and the technology available to implement them. A 4th year is currently working on the project but since she is graduating in May, I will take over the research. I know it will involve a lot of work but I wanted to do research in this arena because I strongly believe in preventive healthcare, something that was essentially non existent while growing up in Louisiana. No one really informed my community, family or friends about those prevalent diseases such as Diabetes, Hypertension, Hypercholesterolemia which can simply be prevented if one has knowledge about them. For instance, Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, eye disease and non-traumatic lower limb amputation. Lots of these more progressive diseases can simply be prevented by informing the public about them.

In all, even thou I will be working my butt off next semester, It will be rewarding to give back by doing this research. Essentially ensuring physicians are implementing and offering these services to the patients at the clinic. Hopefully, the results of my research project can be used as a model for other clinics to implement this same type of healthcare model in their clinics, not only in DC but around the world.